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00:00:00To La Vererie and already Riccardo Patrese has slotted his Ramon BMW into second position ahead of Eddie Cheever behind Alain Prost.
00:00:12So it's Cheever third, Renault's first and third and Nelson Piquet is in fourth position and René Arnoux in the Ferrari is in fifth place.
00:00:21And this should be the story of the turbocharged cars because this poor recar circuit with its over one mile long Mistral straight which they're approaching now gives them with their power advantage a tremendous benefit.
00:00:37And it's terribly important to Renault and to France that Renault again do well in the French Grand Prix. They won in 1979, in 1981 and 1982 and it's cross-leading, then Patrese, then Cheever, then Piquet, then René Arnoux and as they come under the bridge Patrick Tombe is in sixth position and Ferrari have had appalling engine troubles in practice.
00:01:01They have flown, believe it or not, no less than eight engines.
00:01:07And just in case you're wondering where Watson is in the McLaren, he had to pit in the first lap, his nose cone was damaged and now live for the 1983 French Grand Prix and we pick it up on lap number nine.
00:01:19Yes, that's enough now, Roswell's got enough twisty part of the track to get the very tipple with the car away from Arnoux so that's an immediate problem of self-wist and he now sets off in potential pursuit of Patrick Tombe.
00:01:44Lap nine in the 54-lap French Grand Prix and Alain Prost in the Renault lead by 4.8 seconds his teammate Eddie Cheever in the second Renault.
00:01:58In third place is Nelson Piquet in the first of the Brabham BMWs.
00:02:02In fourth place is Riccardo Patrese, Brabham BMW.
00:02:05Sixth is Patrick Tombe, fifth is Patrick Tombe and in a magnificent sixth position and the leading non-turbo, Keki Rothberg in the Williams.
00:02:14Wanda, I wonder, I wonder which of these cars are coming in to refuel.
00:02:19We believe that the Renaults, both of which will be making their first ever refueling lap, the stops will be coming in on laps 25 and 27 which is still a long way to go.
00:02:30The weather conditions now are ideal for turbos like that of the Ferrari of René Arnoux at whom we are looking now and who is in seventh position because it is cool, they've got a lot of wing on to enable them to use their power to keep the wheels down.
00:02:48You saw the Ferrari slide a bit now, there is Keki Rothberg in sixth position, Rothberg who finished second in Brazil only to have his points disallowed for a technical infringement of the rules and we've had confirmation that Nigel Mansell has abandoned, has retired from the race because of pain from his toe injury.
00:03:13Tragic luck for him.
00:03:14So, as Alain Prost goes through completing his ninth lap in this 54 lap lead with a very substantial advantage over Eddie Cheever and the rest of the field, it is just a question of keeping the Renault going and it is amazing the way French Grand Prix after French Grand Prix
00:03:42The Renault succeed in doing well where they have had a failure after failure in other Grand Prix's because Jean-Pierre Jaboui won the first ever Grand Prix for Renault in 1979, then after Alan Jones had brought the Williams home in first place in 1980, the man that you're looking at, Alain Prost won the 1981 French Grand Prix here at Dijon.
00:04:09And then last year, René Arnaud won in a Renault and there are the two Renaults leading on lap 10, rather less than one-fifth of the way through the 1983 French Grand Prix.
00:04:23And Pat, who is a diminutive little driver in his 45th Grand Prix with five wins behind him, is truly dominating.
00:04:33Michelin race tyres on which he is competing now have never been in doubt, they've had trouble with their qualifiers earlier this year at Brazil and Long Beach but they won at Brazil with Nelson Piquet did Michelin, they won at Long Beach with John Watson and they're well on their way to another victory now.
00:04:53Well, Micky Lauda has finally woken up, he was sitting at the back of a group running the slowest 14th place, he's now past the very quiet,
00:05:02he's moved up to 12th place and although he's languishing in 12th, the World Championship is beginning to make up the crowd and he is very much in contention,
00:05:13he's got a lot of turbos in front of him, difficult to get past but some of them will be pit stopping and so I think it's reasonable to say that Lauda, although he's not looking like winning the race,
00:05:24he's got the two Williamses in front of him, normally aspirated cars but he's going a bit better now and he seems to be getting into his stride.
00:05:31Very welcome Australia now.
00:05:33And welcome to the French Grand Prix of 1983 to Channel 9 Australia, wide world of sport viewers and the news is that we are on lap 11 of this 54 lap Grand Prix, the 3rd of 1983
00:05:50and in the lead is Alain Prost, the Frenchman in the brand new turbocharged RE40 Renault, in 2nd place is his team mate Eddie Cheever, higher than he has ever been in a Grand Prix before,
00:06:04in 3rd position is Nelson Piquet leading his team mate Riccardo Pachese in the Brabham BMW, in 2nd place is Patrick Torbay, in 2nd position is Keke Rosberg and out of the race already,
00:06:19has gone Nigel Mansell in the John Player Special Renault with a broken toe and now Keke Rosberg and Patrick Tombe are both in good positions,
00:06:30Rosberg is in 6th position and Patrick Tombe coming up through the field, there is Manfred Winkelhock, the German who is in 8th place,
00:06:39behind him Andrea de Cesaris in the Alfa Romeo, 9th, then in 10th position is Patrick Tombe, is Jack Lafitte,
00:06:48and in 6th position is Elio De Angelis, number 11 in the John Player Special Renault who powers past Patrick Tombe,
00:06:55because De Angelis has got a turbocharged Renault engine compared with the Cosworth of Tombe.
00:07:02Here Jack Lafitte fighting away there, behind De Angelis, De Angelis outpowered him down the straight,
00:07:09and it's the usual problem, it's being demonstrated very well here, this enormous power advantage, turbo powered cars have,
00:07:15and of course the feet held up to the twisty bit, he needs to get some daylight between them,
00:07:19and Lauda has closed right up on that little group in 12th place, so a big battle going on there, basically for 8th place and below,
00:07:28with turbocharged, as the feet having a look inside, but it won't help in there because the turbocharged car would totally re-pass it on the straight,
00:07:36and Lauda has caught the group right up, and De Angelis is probably in a little bit of tire trouble,
00:07:41and definitely holding up the two normally aspirated cars behind him, but you see how he powers away now,
00:07:47and of course they're powerless to do anything, but the feet through the fast there, the feet close right up,
00:07:54and he'll outbrake De Angelis if he can, and there he goes, and he's got enough corners now,
00:07:59between there and the same straight, to put a bit of daylight between him if he can,
00:08:06and he needs to do that, just as we saw his team mate Keke Rosberg do earlier, that's a corner that'll help the nimble Williams,
00:08:12here we see an actual replay again, straight forward outbrake manoeuvre, he got a slingshot through the fast S's,
00:08:18and was perfectly placed, and really De Angelis was powerless to do anything about that,
00:08:22against the lighter, more nimble car, and here they are, you see there, that Jack Lafitte has apparently enough daylight,
00:08:30although the Lotus is closing fast, is it closing fast enough to catch him before the end of the straight?
00:08:36Well we'll see, there is De Angelis taking Lafitte again,
00:08:42but sad news for our Channel 9 viewers in Australia,
00:08:46is that ex-world champion Alan Jones is not taking part in the French Grand Prix here at the Paul Ricard circuit today,
00:08:53Alan is here, and his car is here, but unfortunately, financial sponsorship problems have prevented the two from getting together,
00:09:01so the world champion who, ex-world champion who drove in Brazil, is not driving in France,
00:09:07and on lap 13, on lap 13, Alain Prost is leading from any team of the two BMWs, and Rosberg is sixth.
00:09:17He's bogging him down in the middle order of the field, when he could be running faster and would like to be up,
00:09:37mixing it with the others, but up at the front of the race, the Renaults are not really getting away very fast,
00:09:45it could all be on the pit stop, Piquet is dropping back very, very slightly on Prost,
00:09:52but he's only 11 seconds behind him, and a good pit stop by Piquet and a bad one by Prost could swing all that round and more,
00:10:00very, very quickly. In the meantime, Keke Rosberg is over 40 seconds behind the leaders now,
00:10:08and he's not, unless the Renaults make a mess of their pit stop, he's not going to be able to make that up,
00:10:13and he's still dropping back, so he's ready to sweep up any mistakes, but he's not really in contention unless they have a bad stop.
00:10:21And Vicky Lauda is now right up with Elio De Angelis in the John Clare Special Renault,
00:10:30and De Angelis, number 11, is in 11th position, and there's De Cesaris with Tombe and Winklehoff as they go down the straight,
00:10:40followed by De Angelis, followed by Lauda, and there is in the green Benetton Tyrrell,
00:10:47Michele Alboreto, who is in 13th position, lap 15 then, and as we watch this battle with Niki Lauda,
00:10:54and here is De Cesaris taking the yellow and black ATS of Manfred Winklehoff,
00:11:01and now we rejoin the race, we are on lap 15, a wonderful battle between De Angelis and Lauda now try to take him,
00:11:09and it is cross leading, she's a second, Piquet in third position, Patricey fourth, Tombe fifth,
00:11:16so it's turbocharged cars in the first five, and in sixth position it's Phil Kekki Rothberg.
00:11:22Yes, De Angelis is really hurting Lauda's progress, and hurting it to the extent that Alvoreto has now caught Lauda,
00:11:30and thankfully, close enough behind him to possibly just to worry Lauda and have a go at him,
00:11:36so Lauda must be feeling a little bit frustrated, because he was up with the feet before this,
00:11:41and De Angelis, who is in a bit of tyre trouble, is not getting the grip with his Lotus that he wants and would like,
00:11:47and, but of course, powering away down the straight, so look at that huge gap he's open on the straight.
00:11:53Lauda was right behind him, coming onto that mile-long straight, and he's now, what, 30 yards back or so,
00:11:58but he'll catch it all again in the twisty section, as Winklehoff trying to lap a slower car,
00:12:04now Winklehoff made a bit of a mistake coming onto the pit straight,
00:12:07last that, dropped two places, but, er, he's still got that powerful BMW turbocharged engine in his car,
00:12:14and, er, he will be no fun for Lauda and, er, Alvoreto to find a way round either.
00:12:20Reni Arnoux is seventh, you just saw De Angelis, there's Derek Warwick, who has been into the pit, and changed four tyres,
00:12:28that's the blue and the red Coleman, and meantime, nose to tail, come the four cars behind him,
00:12:34Winklehoff, De Angelis, Lauda and Alvoreto, and Winklehoff, number nine, is in eleventh position,
00:12:42so he's back to the battle.
00:12:44Well, Lauda was a little bit closer that time, going into the S, but he's still not quite close enough.
00:12:49The feet seem to be able to get through that S a lot quicker than Lauda, and get the sink shot,
00:12:54and especially now, Lauda's going, he should have tried the inside if he can,
00:12:58he seems to be able to be getting, er, a look down there, and once again, it's going to be, er,
00:13:04a long straight for the Renault to power away, Lauda's snapping all over his heels in the corners,
00:13:10but, er, then he just has to sit and watch powerless to do anything, er,
00:13:16a long straight, now he's got Winklehoff in front, weaving about a little bit,
00:13:22and there's the fastest lap being slashed up, Alan Prost already, but, er, it's not spectacularly fast,
00:13:28oh, approximately three seconds outside the existing lap record,
00:13:33and, er, something like more than six, seven seconds slower than Alan Prost qualified,
00:13:37with boost wound up and sticky tires on end.
00:13:40That is Derek Warwick's car, he was with that battle that we were looking at,
00:13:45and he suddenly shot off the circuit, he's obviously out of the race,
00:13:49having been into the pits to change his tires, so that means Derek Warwick is out,
00:13:54Nigel Mantle is out, John Watson is out on lap 17, it's not a good race for Britain,
00:14:01but it's a very good race for France at the press moment, as we look at Elio De Angelis,
00:14:06and Nicky Lauda, in the John Player Special Renault, and the Barbara McLaren,
00:14:12and they are battling for 12th position, with Michele Alvarez, they're in 13th,
00:14:18with, in 11th place ahead of them, Manfred Winklehoff, there he is, 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th,
00:14:24they are on lap 17, and on lap 17, it is still Alan Prost leading, with now Eddie Cheever,
00:14:32nine seconds behind him, Nelson Piquet is 11 seconds behind Cheever, then Patrese,
00:14:38two seconds behind CK, in 4th position, in 5th place Patrick Torbay, 6th position,
00:14:44Keggy Rothberg, 7th Arneau, 8th De Angelis, then Winklehoff, and here is Nicky Lauda,
00:14:51again, trying to get past Elio De Angelis, with Michele Alvarez, in the Green Tyrrell holding the Austrian,
00:15:00in the red and white Barbara McLaren, lap 18, and very soon, we're going to see the thrill and excitement of these pit stops.
00:15:10Yes, and Nelson Piquet has now got right up behind Eddie Cheever, and he's definitely holding Alan Prost's lead up front,
00:15:19so the race now seems to have developed very much into a two-team, four-car battle between the two Renaults and the two Brabham BMWs,
00:15:28because they really have gone quite a long way away from Patrick Tambay,
00:15:34who's now some 13 seconds behind Riccardo Patrese in 4th place,
00:15:40so the Ferraris are still there in place if they can make up anything on the pit stops,
00:15:44but the rest really seem to be too far behind that.
00:15:48Rosberg is now well back and out of range, even bearing in mind that these leading cars have got a stop,
00:15:55so the company will make the best, but they can't all mess it up.
00:15:59Elio De Angelis, 12th, Nicky Lauda, I'm sorry, Nicky Lauda, 12th,
00:16:05and there is the Cayley Albarretta, they start another light lap,
00:16:10they're still chasing the yellow and black turbocharged ATS of Manfred Mikkelhoff.
00:16:16That is five yards closer than before, close enough, now can he get through this quickly and go down the inside on De Angelis?
00:16:23Come on Nicky, get down, and he's done it, oh not quite, I thought he'd got his nose alongside,
00:16:29but he's really going to have such a feeling.
00:16:32But has he got, I don't think he's got enough with the two corners remaining before the long straight
00:16:37to put enough air between him and the all-powerful Renault car Lotus,
00:16:43so unfortunately he's done it at the wrong moment,
00:16:46and I have a nasty feeling he's going to be gobbled up on the straight.
00:16:50Let's watch this now and see if that Lotus of De Angelis can do it.
00:16:54Elio has got enough, here we just see him doing it again.
00:16:56Very straightforward, he's right up behind him,
00:16:59and just a little squirt on the throttle down the inside and nips inside.
00:17:02But I want to go back to the battle on the straight, just to see how the,
00:17:06and there it is, we missed it, but it was a sheer case of brute power and force,
00:17:12and poor old Ladder must be feeling mighty frustrated,
00:17:15but he's just got to get into that corner after the first fast effort after the pit,
00:17:19and not the one where he did it.
00:17:21The Alarm cross now, he is only nine seconds now ahead of Nelson Piquet in the Brabham BMW,
00:17:36who's gone up into second position, behind Nelson Piquet in third position is the second of the two Renaults,
00:17:55Achieva and then Frostburg.
00:17:59Well there is Nicky Lauda, he's finally disposed of Elio de Angelis,
00:18:02I think he's got enough space now,
00:18:04and Alvarez having a very optimistic look down the inside of De Angelis,
00:18:10and just couldn't try to make it, but Lauda outbrakes him into the hairpin before the pit,
00:18:15kept enough air on the straight, and Lauda now definitely has enough space,
00:18:20and is off and running up into 11th place with a little bit of space now.
00:18:25That's it.
00:18:30Well let's gather breath now, on the 21st lap in the lead is Alarm cross in the Renault,
00:18:37in second place is Nelson Piquet in the Brabham BMW,
00:18:40third is Eddie Cheever in the Renault,
00:18:43now in fourth position is Patrick Tombe with apparently Riccardo Patrese out of the race,
00:18:49in fifth position then is Keke Rosberg who has climbed up another place,
00:18:54and in sixth position on the leaderboard in the Ferrari is René Arnoux,
00:19:00in seventh position is Jacques Lafitte,
00:19:02so the Williams Ford Cosworth cars are doing extremely well in fifth and seventh positions,
00:19:08in eighth position it is De Cesaris in the Alfa Romeo,
00:19:14in ninth position it's Wintelhoff,
00:19:16and then that tremendous battle between Nicky Lauda and Elio De Angelis,
00:19:21settled now in favour of Nicky Lauda.
00:19:24Lap 21, 54 lap race,
00:19:27and the fuel stops coming up soon as De Angelis goes through,
00:19:31he is in front of Mauro Baldi now,
00:19:33with the Cayley Alvareto,
00:19:35trying to take the Italian in the red and white Euro racing Alfa Romeo,
00:19:39with its turbocharged engine,
00:19:41and on lap 21 as De Angelis,
00:19:44with its Pirelli tired car,
00:19:46which we expected to be in trouble before now,
00:19:49and into the pits goes De Cesaris,
00:19:52De Cesaris in the Alfa Romeo pits,
00:19:55and off goes De Angelis,
00:19:57so De Cesaris pits, De Angelis trouble,
00:20:00and the race is really crazy.
00:20:03Yes, here we are, we're going to see it again,
00:20:05you watch De Angelis,
00:20:06he's locked his right front wheel there,
00:20:08just didn't get the grip on the brake,
00:20:09just he wanted to turn,
00:20:10it's called a puff of smoke as he locked the brake,
00:20:12and, well it's been hard work for De Angelis so far,
00:20:16a little mistake, he gets going again,
00:20:18but he's been really struggling,
00:20:20with probably not as much grip as the people around him,
00:20:23plenty of power,
00:20:24but it gets very hard work like that,
00:20:26when you've got to go on and on without making a mistake,
00:20:28one sympathises.
00:20:31Now, look at this lot,
00:20:33the Alfa Romeo of Baldy,
00:20:36Danny Sullivan,
00:20:37and behind him one of the Ligiers,
00:20:39and while you look at that,
00:20:40I will tell you that the Brabham
00:20:43and the Williams team mechanics
00:20:45are out in the pit lane,
00:20:47I can see them, you can't,
00:20:48we're getting up towards half distance now,
00:20:51in this 54 lap race,
00:20:53and it's very likely that before long,
00:20:56we'll see the Brabham BMW of Nelson Piquet,
00:21:00or one of the two Renaults,
00:21:02or even one of the Williams cars,
00:21:05peel off and come into the pits,
00:21:08for stops which could well transform the race,
00:21:11and on lap 22,
00:21:13it is still in the lead,
00:21:15Alain Frost,
00:21:16and he's 9.7 seconds ahead of Nelson Piquet,
00:21:20there are Mauro Baldy,
00:21:22and Danny Sullivan,
00:21:23but in third position now,
00:21:25and very close to Nelson Piquet,
00:21:27is Eddie Cheever,
00:21:28we haven't seen them for a while,
00:21:30in fourth position,
00:21:31it is Patrick Tombe,
00:21:33in fifth position,
00:21:34it is Keke Rosberg,
00:21:36in sixth position,
00:21:37it is René Arnoux,
00:21:38seventh is Jacques Lafitte,
00:21:40and in eighth position,
00:21:42it's Manfred Winkelhoff,
00:21:43ninth is Nicky Lauda,
00:21:45and in tenth place,
00:21:46it is Michele Alboretto,
00:21:48what about the pick-offs then,
00:21:50any moment,
00:21:51or any lap now,
00:21:52I suspect,
00:21:53and you look at Alain Frost,
00:21:54coming up to lap,
00:21:55Mark Seurat,
00:21:57in the arrows,
00:21:58who is in thirteenth position.
00:22:01Yes, unfortunately,
00:22:02Nelson Piquet,
00:22:03initial progress,
00:22:05in catching Alain Frost,
00:22:06seems to have stopped,
00:22:07he's dropped back,
00:22:08that little bit,
00:22:09but it's difficult,
00:22:10he's back to 11 seconds now,
00:22:12the gap,
00:22:13difficult to judge exactly,
00:22:14what their form is,
00:22:15because they're in amongst the back markers now,
00:22:16they get a bit held up to the twisty section,
00:22:18or what have you,
00:22:20and of course,
00:22:21this creates a slightly,
00:22:22false view of the situation.
00:22:26Well, there's still 20 cars left in the race,
00:22:29out of it,
00:22:30out of it,
00:22:31as we know,
00:22:32have gone John Watson,
00:22:33we know that Mauro Baldi had trouble,
00:22:35we know that Nigel Mansell has retired,
00:22:38Derek Warwick has retired,
00:22:40Patrese has been into the pits,
00:22:42and he's still there,
00:22:44Ciccotto has had trouble,
00:22:46and so has De Cesaris,
00:22:49and also,
00:22:51De Angelis,
00:22:52and as I talk to you,
00:22:54Danny Sullivan is into the pits,
00:22:56but there is,
00:22:57the race leader,
00:22:58on lap 23,
00:23:00out of 54,
00:23:01Alain Frost,
00:23:02who won the French 4-3 at Dijon,
00:23:04the year before last,
00:23:06finished second to his then-team race,
00:23:08René Arnoux,
00:23:09here at Corica,
00:23:10in 1982,
00:23:12and that's the new RE40 Renault,
00:23:16and he's up with Roberto Guerrero,
00:23:19number 53,
00:23:21and Guerrero is in 12th position,
00:23:25so Prost has lapped the 12th placeman,
00:23:28he's going through,
00:23:30and the gap between Nelson Piquet,
00:23:32who is second,
00:23:33and Eddie Cheever,
00:23:35who is third,
00:23:36is 2.9 seconds,
00:23:38that's the man though,
00:23:40there is Alain Frost,
00:23:42in the very distinctive Renault,
00:23:43with the red nose cone.
00:23:46Well, it's interesting now,
00:23:47because Piquet and Frost,
00:23:49the gap's bouncing around a bit,
00:23:51which is obviously due to the traffic,
00:23:53but they seem to me to be pretty evenly matched,
00:23:56which augurs very well for the second half of the race,
00:23:58we're going to see,
00:23:59they've both got to come into the pits,
00:24:01it'll be a very important battle for their respective pit crews,
00:24:05to turn them around fast enough,
00:24:07very easy to make up five seconds,
00:24:09or lose five seconds at a pit stop,
00:24:11and that could be all the difference for Nelson Piquet,
00:24:15he'll obviously be wanting a very good one indeed,
00:24:19because if he can pick up a few seconds there,
00:24:21he's going to be close enough on the track
00:24:23to get a straight fight with Brost to the flag afterwards.
00:24:26And welcome back to Nine's Wide World of Sports,
00:24:36and the 1983 French Grand Prix.
00:24:38The placings on lap number 25,
00:24:40heading the field Alain Prost,
00:24:42Nelson Piquet,
00:24:43followed by Eddie Cheever,
00:24:45Patrick Tombe,
00:24:46Kecky Rosberg,
00:24:47and in sixth position, Jacques Lafitte.
00:24:49For those Alfa Romeo followers,
00:24:51the eighth fastest qualifier,
00:24:53Mara Baldy,
00:24:54suffered a punctured tyre in lap number one,
00:24:56which may sort of show you why he's back there in the field.
00:24:59Now let's go back live to France,
00:25:01and your commentators,
00:25:02Murray Walker and James Hunt.
00:25:06Just going in for a few laps,
00:25:07here is Cheever,
00:25:08there's good a stop,
00:25:09there they are,
00:25:10starting the clock now,
00:25:11good pit stop by the Ferrari team,
00:25:13very sprint,
00:25:14they've done a lot of practice,
00:25:15they got the fuel in very quickly indeed,
00:25:17in about ten seconds,
00:25:18took a little bit longer over the tyres,
00:25:20and fuel finished,
00:25:23France on,
00:25:25and,
00:25:26that's not quite as quick,
00:25:28but it's still not bad,
00:25:29anything under twenty seconds,
00:25:30not bad,
00:25:31getting Cheever away and on the move,
00:25:35Prost is going to come in,
00:25:36about four or five laps time.
00:25:38And where is Patrick Tombe,
00:25:41is the next question in fourth place,
00:25:44as Alain Prost is on his 26th lap.
00:25:48Now we're expecting Alain Prost,
00:25:50the race leader,
00:25:51to come in two laps after Eddie Cheever,
00:25:55so Cheever is now on his 26th lap,
00:25:59which Alain Prost is not so far off completing,
00:26:02and still in second position,
00:26:04it's Nelson Pico.
00:26:07In fact,
00:26:08as a safety measure,
00:26:09the teams who were making pit stops,
00:26:11all agreed amongst themselves,
00:26:13that they'd make them on different laps,
00:26:14so as not to have too much of a kerfuffle in the pits at once,
00:26:17and I think Brabhams and Renault agreed,
00:26:20to come in at separate times.
00:26:22And I can't remember who we're expecting first,
00:26:26but we're expecting Alain Prost quite soon,
00:26:31and that's of course,
00:26:32is going to change the whole complexion of the race,
00:26:33and we'll be expecting Fique pretty soon as well.
00:26:36And they are now about nine seconds apart,
00:26:42Fique has carved back that little difference.
00:26:4710.4 seconds between this man,
00:26:49the race leader Alain Prost,
00:26:51on lap 27,
00:26:53and the second place man,
00:26:55Nelson Pique.
00:26:56In third position,
00:26:57it is still Eddie Cheever,
00:26:59but obviously, of course,
00:27:00with Patrick Tombe,
00:27:02much closer to him in the Ferrari in fourth place.
00:27:05Fifth and sixth,
00:27:06the two Williams of Keke Rosberg,
00:27:08and up into third position has come Patrick Tombe,
00:27:11thanks to that pit stop by Eddie Cheever,
00:27:14but Cheever is close enough to Tombe
00:27:17to be able to regain the third position,
00:27:20if Tombe has to come in and refuel,
00:27:22which seems very likely in the light of the fact that
00:27:25his team mate René Arnoux has already done so.
00:27:29And Alain Prost there,
00:27:31has passed and lapped to Kaley Albaretto,
00:27:35Albaretto number three,
00:27:37who is in ninth position.
00:27:39So Prost has lapped everybody up to ninth,
00:27:41and on lap 27,
00:27:43the order is Prost,
00:27:44here he is leading,
00:27:45Pique second,
00:27:46Cheever has lost his third place to Tombe,
00:27:49in fourth position is therefore Cheever,
00:27:53in fifth position Rothberg,
00:27:55in sixth position is Jack Lapite,
00:27:57in seventh position just off the leaderboard,
00:28:00Manfred Winkelhock,
00:28:01in eighth position is Nicky Lauda,
00:28:03in ninth position is Michele Albaretto,
00:28:06and in tenth place René Arnoux,
00:28:08and are we going to get the leader coming in for a pit stop now?
00:28:12And the answer is no, he has gone through.
00:28:15So Alain Prost is hanging on,
00:28:19his car is fully equipped for refueling,
00:28:21look behind his head and you will see,
00:28:23well, he's going too quick,
00:28:25he's going into La Ferrerie,
00:28:27at about 155 miles an hour,
00:28:31this right and left,
00:28:32and now down to the chicane,
00:28:34to the L'Ecole,
00:28:35into the long right-hander at Van Boom,
00:28:39then flat out in fourth gear,
00:28:42at about 125 miles an hour,
00:28:45after he has rounded this corner,
00:28:47and into the long Mistral straight,
00:28:501.1 miles long,
00:28:52which he enters now,
00:28:54and this straight is one,
00:28:56over as I said a mile long,
00:28:58and they hold on flat out for over 24 seconds.
00:29:02And what's crossed as he comes up,
00:29:04behind Mauro Baldi,
00:29:06in the V6 Alfa Romeo,
00:29:08and in front of Baldi,
00:29:10is Nicky Lauda,
00:29:12so Baldi's coming up through the field well,
00:29:14and now Alain Prost,
00:29:17are we going to see a Renault pit change,
00:29:19into the pits goes Keggy Rosberg,
00:29:21Keggy Rosberg is coming in to refuel,
00:29:23the fastest time we've had so far,
00:29:25is Rennie Arnoux,
00:29:26and there is Rosberg,
00:29:27and the wheels stop now,
00:29:29in goes the hose,
00:29:31up goes the jack,
00:29:32off come the rear wheels,
00:29:33the tyres and wheels are passed back,
00:29:35the Williams team have been practicing this superbly,
00:29:38and Keggy Rosberg,
00:29:39the reigning world champion,
00:29:41has got the fuel popping in behind him,
00:29:43off, out of the jacks,
00:29:45and it's slower, he's slower,
00:29:47it was 17.6 for Cheever,
00:29:49the second they're ticking away,
00:29:51something is wrong,
00:29:52and the Williams pit stop is not going nearly as well,
00:29:55and there, Keggy Rosberg,
00:29:57has lost a considerable amount of time,
00:29:59with over 26 seconds.
00:30:03Yes, I couldn't see what was wrong,
00:30:05it appears to be something at the front of the car,
00:30:07because they got the fuel in,
00:30:09and the rear wheels done alright,
00:30:10but that, er,
00:30:12seems again that Frank Williams,
00:30:14has, er,
00:30:15has let himself down,
00:30:17the driver there's Rosberg,
00:30:18battling him there,
00:30:19he's on cold tyres,
00:30:20don't forget,
00:30:21he's come out right beside Prost,
00:30:23but a lap down,
00:30:24and on cold tyres,
00:30:25he won't be much of a match for him,
00:30:26for a lap or two,
00:30:28but, er,
00:30:29really a shame then,
00:30:30Rosberg,
00:30:31really having a go,
00:30:32and, er,
00:30:33something went wrong with the Williams team,
00:30:34that's two out of two pit stops,
00:30:36that they've made a mess of,
00:30:37and that, er,
00:30:38really won't do,
00:30:39they've got to,
00:30:40got to get their act together on that,
00:30:41if they get to,
00:30:42win races.
00:30:44And, as you see,
00:30:46Alain Prost coming down the straight,
00:30:49there he is,
00:30:50with the white,
00:30:51red flash on the nose cone,
00:30:52he has still got to come in,
00:30:54and make his pit stop,
00:30:55this is lap 29,
00:30:57he's now caught,
00:30:58and passed,
00:30:59Nicky Lauder,
00:31:00who is in eighth position,
00:31:03so,
00:31:04Prost Prost is fairly surging,
00:31:06his way through the field,
00:31:07and it's more than likely,
00:31:09that,
00:31:10the man who won the French Grand Prix,
00:31:12in 1981,
00:31:14Alain Prost here,
00:31:15who,
00:31:16incidentally,
00:31:17as number 15,
00:31:18has yet to score,
00:31:19a point,
00:31:20in the 1983,
00:31:21World Championship,
00:31:22could well be coming,
00:31:23into the pits,
00:31:24on this man,
00:31:25and the fastest time,
00:31:27so far,
00:31:28we've had,
00:31:29is the Ferrari,
00:31:30pit stop,
00:31:31of 15.7 seconds,
00:31:32for René Arnoux,
00:31:33and now,
00:31:34Prost is into,
00:31:35the last right hander,
00:31:36and it's going to be now,
00:31:37that we see,
00:31:38whether,
00:31:39the,
00:31:40Renault man,
00:31:41goes into the pits,
00:31:42he's slowing down,
00:31:43now he accelerates away,
00:31:44and he,
00:31:45oh now he's into the pits,
00:31:46now,
00:31:47this is going to be,
00:31:48the critical pit stop,
00:31:50for the race leader,
00:31:51Alain Prost,
00:31:52and as you see,
00:31:53the second take away,
00:31:55the Renault mechanics,
00:31:56are superbly drilled,
00:31:58they have been practicing,
00:31:59at Viri Chatillon,
00:32:00the Renault base,
00:32:02near Paris,
00:32:03they have been practicing,
00:32:04here,
00:32:05at the full retail circuit,
00:32:06and this is a slower stop,
00:32:08than that of René Arnoux,
00:32:10it's now slower,
00:32:11than that of his team mate,
00:32:12Cheever,
00:32:13it's very slow indeed,
00:32:14compared with them,
00:32:15but away he goes,
00:32:16in 24.2 seconds,
00:32:18and this can actually put,
00:32:20Nelson Piquet in the lead,
00:32:22and there goes,
00:32:23Patrick També,
00:32:24also going into the pits,
00:32:25to make his pit stop,
00:32:26També here,
00:32:27we see També,
00:32:28pulling up,
00:32:29very slow stop,
00:32:30had trouble,
00:32:31with the right rear wheel,
00:32:32on Prost's car,
00:32:33and if,
00:32:34Nelson Piquet,
00:32:35can get a smooth,
00:32:3615 seconds stop,
00:32:37or thereabouts,
00:32:38he would rejoin the race,
00:32:40pretty well,
00:32:41level pegging,
00:32:42with Alan Prost,
00:32:43and we can have a real run,
00:32:44to the finish,
00:32:45so,
00:32:46pit stops,
00:32:47seemed to have,
00:32:48had a very, very fast stop,
00:32:49by També,
00:32:50but,
00:32:51he did it before,
00:32:52so it's probably just an adjustment,
00:32:53one of the wheel nuts,
00:32:54possibly not tight.
00:32:55This is Winkle Hawk,
00:33:11and in eight,
00:33:12it's Rosberg,
00:33:13who has been stopped.
00:33:14There,
00:33:15we just saw Nelson Piquet there,
00:33:17we expect him to come in,
00:33:18in the next two or three laps,
00:33:20possibly this one,
00:33:21he shows exactly one,
00:33:23well,
00:33:27Piquet's gone past the pits,
00:33:28there he is,
00:33:29he's,
00:33:30I,
00:33:31you'd rather suspect he's coming in next lap,
00:33:33he's trying to get round one of the,
00:33:34Tyrells there,
00:33:35he doesn't want to lose any time,
00:33:37he's got about 27 seconds at the moment,
00:33:39at the moment,
00:33:41on Alan Frost,
00:33:42and,
00:33:43that is about,
00:33:44with a good,
00:33:45fast refuel and tower stop,
00:33:47lasting some 13,
00:33:4914 seconds,
00:33:50that's a very good one,
00:33:51um,
00:33:52that is about what he'd lose in the road,
00:33:53when you add on his decelerating,
00:33:55and accelerating,
00:33:56time,
00:33:57out of the pits,
00:33:58so 27 seconds,
00:33:59if they have a good one for Bramford,
00:34:01will be there,
00:34:02so he could be in for,
00:34:03plenty of excitement,
00:34:04with,
00:34:05looks like we're staying on TJ now,
00:34:07following him round,
00:34:08race leader,
00:34:09but,
00:34:10he has the pit stop to make,
00:34:11the others have done theirs,
00:34:12some better than others.
00:34:16We must be honest, however,
00:34:18and say,
00:34:19whilst we expect,
00:34:20Nelson Piquet,
00:34:21that we're looking at,
00:34:22the new race leader,
00:34:23to come into the pits,
00:34:24it's by no means certain,
00:34:25that the Brabham team,
00:34:27led by designer,
00:34:28Gordon Murray,
00:34:29are not sandbagging,
00:34:31and,
00:34:32fooling everybody.
00:34:33Nelson Piquet's on,
00:34:35those Michelin tires,
00:34:36which we know,
00:34:37can last the race distance,
00:34:39and it could just be,
00:34:40that there's a big fluff,
00:34:41going on,
00:34:42and the Piquet,
00:34:43is going to drive,
00:34:44through the whole race,
00:34:45it's very,
00:34:46very unlikely,
00:34:47but it's not,
00:34:48altogether inconceivable.
00:34:49Meantime,
00:34:50there is the race leader,
00:34:51the man who won,
00:34:52at Brazil,
00:34:53who failed to finish,
00:34:54at Long Beach,
00:34:55who is second equal,
00:34:56in the world championship,
00:34:58with John Watson,
00:34:59who has,
00:35:00of course,
00:35:01retired from this race,
00:35:02the world championship,
00:35:03led by,
00:35:04Nicky Lauda,
00:35:05who,
00:35:06at the moment,
00:35:07is in,
00:35:08eighth position,
00:35:09and there is Piquet,
00:35:11going through,
00:35:12and into the pit.
00:35:13So,
00:35:14now,
00:35:15this is the race leader,
00:35:16the fastest time,
00:35:17we've got so far,
00:35:18is 12 seconds,
00:35:19just over,
00:35:20for Patrick Torme,
00:35:21and it's stop,
00:35:22and start.
00:35:23And the,
00:35:24the Brabham team,
00:35:25these are the people,
00:35:26that initiated,
00:35:27pit stops last year,
00:35:28Nelson Piquet,
00:35:29sitting in,
00:35:30passively in the car,
00:35:31already the left front,
00:35:32has been changed,
00:35:33it's slow compared,
00:35:34with Torme,
00:35:35it's fast compared,
00:35:36with the others,
00:35:37away goes Nelson,
00:35:3816.1 seconds.
00:35:40Well,
00:35:41I think that's going to take him out,
00:35:42onto the track,
00:35:43just behind Alan Frost,
00:35:44there's Alan,
00:35:45I think that's Frost,
00:35:46just lost him,
00:35:47possibly,
00:35:48no Frost,
00:35:49Chiever just gone by.
00:35:50That,
00:35:51that's Nicky Lauda's car,
00:35:53Nicky Lauda's car,
00:35:54stuck by the road there,
00:35:56so out,
00:35:57goes the world championship leader,
00:35:59Nicky Lauda,
00:36:00and Piquet there.
00:36:01Yes,
00:36:02Piquet is just behind Frost,
00:36:03we saw Frost go through,
00:36:04before him,
00:36:05I had a guess,
00:36:06I'd say,
00:36:07eight, ten seconds,
00:36:08cold tires,
00:36:09Piquet needed new tires,
00:36:10Prost was catching him,
00:36:11fast on the road,
00:36:12after he'd made his pit stop,
00:36:14and,
00:36:15I would think that Piquet's tires,
00:36:17are getting a little bit tired,
00:36:18so now we've got to see,
00:36:19how they settle,
00:36:20Piquet will take,
00:36:21at least,
00:36:22probably one full lap,
00:36:23to warm his tires up,
00:36:24before he's up to maximum racing speed,
00:36:26and meanwhile,
00:36:27Alain Prost is of course,
00:36:28increasing his lead,
00:36:29when they come past us,
00:36:30we'll get the watch on it,
00:36:31but I would think,
00:36:32it'll be ten seconds,
00:36:33or more.
00:36:35There is Prost,
00:36:36there is Prost,
00:36:37we will of course,
00:36:38put the stop watch,
00:36:39on the Renault,
00:36:40of the,
00:36:41talented Frenchman,
00:36:42Alain Prost,
00:36:43who is on his,
00:36:4433rd lap,
00:36:45and see what the gap is,
00:36:47between himself,
00:36:48and Nelson Piquet,
00:36:49Piquet,
00:36:50Prost has passed,
00:36:51Mark Sura,
00:36:52in the arrows,
00:36:53there,
00:36:54and the,
00:36:55question is,
00:36:57is,
00:36:58Nelson Piquet,
00:36:59going to be able,
00:37:00to do anything,
00:37:01about his position,
00:37:02in relation,
00:37:03of the Renault,
00:37:04of Prost,
00:37:05who is coming through,
00:37:06to complete his,
00:37:0733rd lap,
00:37:09here he is,
00:37:10out of the right-hander,
00:37:12at Pont,
00:37:13at the pits,
00:37:14over the line,
00:37:15to complete the lap,
00:37:16and start a new one,
00:37:17that is 33 laps,
00:37:19completed then,
00:37:20for Alain Prost,
00:37:21who streaks away,
00:37:22towards La Vererie,
00:37:24as into,
00:37:25the,
00:37:26sight of us,
00:37:27comes Nelson Piquet,
00:37:29and it is,
00:37:30just about,
00:37:3110 seconds,
00:37:32between,
00:37:34Alain Prost,
00:37:35the race leader,
00:37:36on lap 34,
00:37:37in this,
00:37:3854 lap,
00:37:39French Grand Prix,
00:37:40and Nelson Piquet,
00:37:41who should be,
00:37:42the next car,
00:37:43that you see,
00:37:44there he is,
00:37:45second place,
00:37:46the brilliant,
00:37:47Brazilian,
00:37:48world champion,
00:37:49of 1981.
00:37:58And welcome back,
00:37:59to the 1983,
00:38:00French Grand Prix,
00:38:01Lions Wide World of Sports,
00:38:02live,
00:38:03from Port Ricard,
00:38:04and now,
00:38:05to Murray Walker,
00:38:06and James Hunt,
00:38:07as they continue,
00:38:08their commentary.
00:38:09That will remain,
00:38:10to be seen,
00:38:11how clever,
00:38:12a gamble it is,
00:38:13because,
00:38:14he does seem,
00:38:15to have something,
00:38:16by comparison,
00:38:17by comparison,
00:38:18of his performance,
00:38:19against,
00:38:20his Super Series,
00:38:21he was very,
00:38:22really matched,
00:38:23earlier on,
00:38:24in the race.
00:38:25So,
00:38:26it will take us,
00:38:27a couple of laps,
00:38:28to get a pattern,
00:38:29on that,
00:38:30they put a soft,
00:38:31compound on,
00:38:32weather your last,
00:38:33there is Piquet,
00:38:35driving very smoothly,
00:38:36as we expect,
00:38:37with a big,
00:38:38flash of flame,
00:38:39through his turbocharger,
00:38:40then,
00:38:41they're very,
00:38:42like that,
00:38:43these,
00:38:44silence arrangements,
00:38:45the engines.
00:38:46And I'm watching,
00:38:47Piquet,
00:38:48as you are,
00:38:49and I'll be able,
00:38:50to tell you now,
00:38:51what the gap is,
00:38:52because,
00:38:53Prost has gone through,
00:38:54and completed,
00:38:55his 35th lap,
00:38:56and James is right,
00:38:57Piquet is dropping back,
00:38:58the gap is 14 seconds.
00:38:59Yes,
00:39:00and Prost,
00:39:01has just posted,
00:39:02a new fastest lap,
00:39:03so Alain Prost,
00:39:04has definitely,
00:39:05done something,
00:39:06in the pits,
00:39:07or,
00:39:08either that,
00:39:09or,
00:39:10got his finger out,
00:39:11in a big way,
00:39:12because he's going,
00:39:13considerably quicker,
00:39:14miles an hour,
00:39:15around this,
00:39:16lovely Ricard circuit,
00:39:17and,
00:39:18Piquet,
00:39:19at the moment,
00:39:20doesn't seem,
00:39:21to have an answer,
00:39:22to that.
00:39:23And while we look,
00:39:24at Piquet,
00:39:25Keke Rosberg,
00:39:26in sixth position,
00:39:27is gaining fast,
00:39:28on his teammate,
00:39:29Patrick Tombe,
00:39:30who is in fifth place,
00:39:32and on lap 36,
00:39:33as you look,
00:39:34at the turbocharged,
00:39:35Brabham BMW,
00:39:36of second place man,
00:39:37Nelson Piquet,
00:39:39it is Alain Prost,
00:39:41leading by about,
00:39:4214 seconds now,
00:39:43Piquet,
00:39:44that you look at,
00:39:45second,
00:39:46in third position,
00:39:47Cheever,
00:39:48in fourth position,
00:39:49in Patrick Tombe,
00:39:50fifth and sixth,
00:39:51for battling hard,
00:39:52the two Williams,
00:39:53are,
00:39:54Jack Lafitte,
00:39:55fifth,
00:39:56and Keke Rosberg,
00:39:57sixth,
00:39:58in seventh position,
00:39:59now,
00:40:00it's Michele Albaretto,
00:40:01down to eighth,
00:40:02has gone,
00:40:03René Arnoux,
00:40:04whose season,
00:40:05it is not,
00:40:06because he's only,
00:40:07in fifth position,
00:40:08with four points,
00:40:09is,
00:40:10Jean-Pierre Charrier,
00:40:12and,
00:40:13everybody,
00:40:14up to,
00:40:15Jean-Pierre Charrier,
00:40:16have been lapped,
00:40:17and Jean-Pierre Charrier,
00:40:18is ninth,
00:40:19there is Piquet,
00:40:20lap 36,
00:40:21and,
00:40:22there is Prost,
00:40:23now,
00:40:24I've got the stopwatch,
00:40:25running,
00:40:26and,
00:40:27Piquet's tyres,
00:40:28of course,
00:40:29are warming up,
00:40:30and it looks visually,
00:40:31to me,
00:40:32as though Piquet,
00:40:33is gaining a bit,
00:40:34Prost,
00:40:35fastest so far,
00:40:361.42,
00:40:37that's two seconds,
00:40:38outside the lap record,
00:40:39which was done,
00:40:40by a skirting car,
00:40:41but Piquet is indeed,
00:40:42dropping back,
00:40:4316 seconds,
00:40:44is the gap,
00:40:45as Alain Prost,
00:40:46comes up to,
00:40:47René Arnoux,
00:40:49who is in eighth position,
00:40:51right,
00:40:52Prost has lapped,
00:40:53the ninth place man,
00:40:54he's gaining on the Ferrari,
00:40:56of René Arnoux,
00:40:57and this is going to be,
00:40:58very interesting,
00:40:59because it was last year,
00:41:00that René Arnoux,
00:41:02and Prost,
00:41:03had a real needle match,
00:41:04because,
00:41:05Prost had instructions,
00:41:06to win,
00:41:07and René Arnoux,
00:41:08had instructions,
00:41:09to finish second,
00:41:10and René Arnoux,
00:41:11held on to the lead,
00:41:12he had,
00:41:13and he won the race,
00:41:14much to the disgust,
00:41:15of Prost,
00:41:16and the Renault team,
00:41:17and now,
00:41:18they're in rival cars,
00:41:19and Prost wins,
00:41:20Arnoux,
00:41:21right beside him,
00:41:22reigning,
00:41:23on Michele Alboreto,
00:41:24and behind them,
00:41:25is Raoul Bissell,
00:41:26in the Ligier,
00:41:27and Prost is through,
00:41:28he has taken the Ferrari,
00:41:30on his 37th lap,
00:41:31out of 34,
00:41:32so the leader,
00:41:33has lapped,
00:41:34the eighth place man,
00:41:35in second place,
00:41:36it is still Piquet,
00:41:37third,
00:41:38it is still Tiva,
00:41:39fourth,
00:41:40it is still Tombe,
00:41:41fifth,
00:41:42it is still Lafitte,
00:41:43sixth, it is still Rosberg,
00:41:45seventh, it is still Alboreto,
00:41:47and,
00:41:48as you see,
00:41:49the race leader,
00:41:50Alain Prost,
00:41:51is now,
00:41:52right up,
00:41:53to the green,
00:41:54marathon,
00:41:55of,
00:41:56Michele Alboreto,
00:41:57Lapis,
00:41:58the fastest,
00:41:59that's the fastest car,
00:42:00on the circuit,
00:42:01Alain Prost,
00:42:02and,
00:42:03Tecky Rosberg,
00:42:04has moved up,
00:42:05into fifth position,
00:42:06ahead of his team mate,
00:42:07Jack Lapis,
00:42:09and,
00:42:10now,
00:42:11Prost is on his way,
00:42:12about to pass,
00:42:14Michele Alboreto,
00:42:15and he does it,
00:42:16going into La Ferrerie,
00:42:18and out of it,
00:42:23left,
00:42:24right,
00:42:25break,
00:42:26down through the gear,
00:42:28left again,
00:42:29Alain Prost,
00:42:30Alain Prost,
00:42:31now,
00:42:32coming up,
00:42:33to the Mistral,
00:42:34and it looks,
00:42:35as though,
00:42:36Alain Prost,
00:42:37who led the race,
00:42:38for lap,
00:42:39after lap,
00:42:40well into the race,
00:42:41until he was caught,
00:42:42at his pit stop,
00:42:43by that man,
00:42:44Nelson Piquet,
00:42:45who is now second,
00:42:46is indeed,
00:42:47going to have,
00:42:48his sixth,
00:42:49Grand Prix win,
00:42:50because,
00:42:51and Nelson Piquet,
00:42:52locked up,
00:42:53his right front wheel,
00:42:54as he went into,
00:42:55the right hander there,
00:42:56but the Renault team,
00:42:58and I emphasize,
00:42:59the word,
00:43:00seem,
00:43:01to be much more,
00:43:02reliable,
00:43:03this year,
00:43:04although,
00:43:05Eddie Cheever,
00:43:06has yet to finish,
00:43:07a Grand Prix,
00:43:08he didn't finish,
00:43:09in Brazil,
00:43:10he didn't finish,
00:43:11at Long Beach,
00:43:12in seventh position,
00:43:13he finished,
00:43:14in 11th place,
00:43:15at Long Beach,
00:43:16and he's now,
00:43:17on the lead,
00:43:18with,
00:43:19the glory of France,
00:43:21and the glory of Renault,
00:43:22and both matter,
00:43:23a great deal,
00:43:24to most of the people,
00:43:25here,
00:43:26at the Paul Ricard circuit,
00:43:27resting,
00:43:28on his shoulders,
00:43:29and of course,
00:43:30he's,
00:43:31he's lucky,
00:43:32in one way,
00:43:33is,
00:43:34Alain Prost,
00:43:35because it is so,
00:43:36I was going to say,
00:43:37cool,
00:43:38it's not cool,
00:43:39here,
00:43:40compared,
00:43:41with last year,
00:43:42when the race,
00:43:43was run,
00:43:44three months later,
00:43:45at the end of July,
00:43:46it is downright,
00:43:47cold,
00:43:48we are all,
00:43:49sitting here,
00:43:50in the open,
00:43:51solitary box,
00:43:52in our anoraks,
00:43:53and we're very glad,
00:43:54we've got them,
00:43:55and now,
00:43:56Patrick Tolbe,
00:43:57as Prost,
00:43:58goes through,
00:43:59Patrick Tolbe,
00:44:00is gaining,
00:44:01as you saw it,
00:44:02in the background,
00:44:03on Michele Albaretto,
00:44:05and the gap,
00:44:06between race leader,
00:44:07Alain Prost,
00:44:08and Nelson Piquet,
00:44:09is down,
00:44:11to about,
00:44:1211 seconds,
00:44:13the gap,
00:44:14between Piquet,
00:44:15and Chiva,
00:44:16is about,
00:44:17five seconds,
00:44:18so it seems to me,
00:44:19that Piquet,
00:44:20is speeding up,
00:44:21no, no,
00:44:22he's 17 seconds down,
00:44:23I just counted,
00:44:24Murray,
00:44:25and,
00:44:26he's losing a little bit,
00:44:27but,
00:44:28to Alain Prost,
00:44:29but I still haven't got any,
00:44:31really logical,
00:44:32explanation,
00:44:33for Prost's,
00:44:34very sudden turn of speed,
00:44:36when he came out of the pits,
00:44:37after,
00:44:38stopping for tyres and fuel,
00:44:39because,
00:44:40he proceeded to knock,
00:44:41something like a second off,
00:44:42his previous,
00:44:43or the previous,
00:44:44fastest lap,
00:44:45which I think was,
00:44:46set up by Piquet,
00:44:47and,
00:44:48and that,
00:44:49is down the line,
00:44:50that he streaked away,
00:44:51from the field,
00:44:52what he may have done,
00:44:53is,
00:44:54stuck on a set of softer tyres,
00:44:55done a few quick laps,
00:44:56to demoralise Piquet,
00:44:57establish his,
00:44:58superiority,
00:44:59and now,
00:45:00having done that,
00:45:01he may well have slowed it,
00:45:02right up,
00:45:03to keep his tyres cool,
00:45:04and,
00:45:05it's,
00:45:06it's,
00:45:07it's Farby,
00:45:08in the,
00:45:09Ocella there,
00:45:10Corrado Farby,
00:45:11brother of Teo,
00:45:12there,
00:45:13is Eddie Cheever,
00:45:14in third position,
00:45:16four seconds,
00:45:17as Corrado Farby,
00:45:18gets out of the Ocella,
00:45:19Cheever,
00:45:20four seconds,
00:45:21behind the second place man,
00:45:22Nelson Piquet,
00:45:23who is 16 seconds,
00:45:25behind the race leader,
00:45:26who is Alain Prost,
00:45:28who is on his 39th lap,
00:45:29which he is just coming up,
00:45:31to complete,
00:45:32he completes that lap now,
00:45:34and goes into his 40th lap,
00:45:3614 laps to go then,
00:45:37in this,
00:45:3854 lap race,
00:45:39but it's still far from clear,
00:45:41Alain Prost leading,
00:45:43Nelson Piquet,
00:45:44second,
00:45:45Eddie Cheever,
00:45:46third,
00:45:47Patrick Tombe,
00:45:48is fourth,
00:45:49Keki Rosberg,
00:45:50is fifth,
00:45:51and Nelson Piquet,
00:45:52now,
00:45:5318.3 seconds behind,
00:45:55he's dropping back,
00:45:56and the gap,
00:45:57between,
00:45:58Piquet,
00:45:59and Cheever,
00:46:00is 6.7 seconds,
00:46:01so the first three,
00:46:03are spreading out,
00:46:04the first three,
00:46:05on lap 40,
00:46:06being Alain Prost,
00:46:08in the lead,
00:46:09in second position,
00:46:10Piquet,
00:46:11in third position,
00:46:12Cheever,
00:46:13in fourth place,
00:46:14it's still Tombe,
00:46:15in the Ferrari,
00:46:16in fifth position,
00:46:17it is still Rosberg,
00:46:18in sixth position,
00:46:19it's Phil,
00:46:20Jack Lafitte,
00:46:21who is,
00:46:22the last man,
00:46:23not to have been lapped,
00:46:24in seventh place,
00:46:25and laps,
00:46:26is Alboreto,
00:46:27in eighth place,
00:46:28and dropping back,
00:46:29is René Arnoux,
00:46:30in ninth position,
00:46:31it is Jean-Pierre Jarrier,
00:46:33and in tenth position,
00:46:34is Marc FĂ¼hrer,
00:46:35in the arrows.
00:46:36And Prost has had,
00:46:51many, many,
00:46:52bad luck patches,
00:46:53in the past,
00:46:54he's lost several wins,
00:46:55in the past,
00:46:56because of troubles,
00:46:57with the Renault,
00:46:58with the Renault,
00:46:59but he's running,
00:47:00as reliably,
00:47:01as it is,
00:47:02at the present moment,
00:47:03he has completed,
00:47:04his 41st lap,
00:47:06and he was,
00:47:07at least,
00:47:0816 seconds,
00:47:09ahead of Nelson Piquet,
00:47:10who doesn't seem,
00:47:11to be able to,
00:47:12make up,
00:47:13any,
00:47:14of the gaps,
00:47:15between himself,
00:47:16and the race leader,
00:47:17as Prost now,
00:47:18is right,
00:47:19with Keke Rosberg,
00:47:20there,
00:47:21who is in fifth position,
00:47:22Nelson Piquet,
00:47:23goes through,
00:47:24behind from,
00:47:25yes,
00:47:26I think,
00:47:27it must have been,
00:47:28a different,
00:47:29because Prost,
00:47:30is definitely,
00:47:31a different man,
00:47:32just before his pit stop,
00:47:33he's pulling away,
00:47:34from Piquet,
00:47:35at over a second of that,
00:47:36and,
00:47:37immediately,
00:47:38before they fitted,
00:47:39Piquet,
00:47:40was if anything,
00:47:41marginally,
00:47:42closing,
00:47:43on Alain Prost,
00:47:44and he's,
00:47:45Prost is now,
00:47:46really flying,
00:47:47comfortably,
00:47:48the fastest man,
00:47:49on the circuit,
00:47:50and as I say,
00:47:51drawing away,
00:47:52from Piquet,
00:47:53comfortable distance,
00:47:54ahead of Patrick Tambay,
00:47:55so,
00:47:56after,
00:47:57a really,
00:47:58fascinating battle,
00:47:59right up to the pit stops,
00:48:00and,
00:48:01fascination,
00:48:02after the pit stop,
00:48:03to see how the race,
00:48:04is really setting down,
00:48:05unfortunately,
00:48:06the concertina,
00:48:07has gone,
00:48:08on an expanding phase,
00:48:09instead of a contracting one,
00:48:10and,
00:48:11the leading,
00:48:12half dozen cars,
00:48:13really,
00:48:14are spreading out,
00:48:15because Rosberg,
00:48:16is a,
00:48:17hopelessly long way,
00:48:18behind Tambay,
00:48:19but,
00:48:20he's just passed,
00:48:21his teammate,
00:48:22Jacques Lafitte,
00:48:23is on an expansion programme,
00:48:24and,
00:48:25at the moment,
00:48:26we've got nothing much,
00:48:27to sing,
00:48:28or cheer about.
00:48:29That is correct,
00:48:30and,
00:48:31Alain Prost,
00:48:32as you see,
00:48:33has lapped,
00:48:34the fifth place man,
00:48:35reigning world champion,
00:48:36in,
00:48:37in,
00:48:38in,
00:48:39in,
00:48:40in,
00:48:41in,
00:48:42in,
00:48:43in,
00:48:44in,
00:48:45in,
00:48:46in,
00:48:471983,
00:48:48because,
00:48:4918,
00:48:50in,
00:48:51in,
00:48:52in,
00:48:53in,
00:48:54in,
00:48:55in,
00:48:56in,
00:48:57in,
00:48:58in,
00:48:59in,
00:49:00in,
00:49:01advantage that the turbocharged Renault had over other cars
00:49:05after this has disappeared.
00:49:07Now, Crossed is 21 seconds ahead of Nelson Piquet,
00:49:13and the gap between Nelson Piquet, who is second,
00:49:15and Cheever, who is third, is 10 seconds.
00:49:19So 31 seconds spread between the first and third men.
00:49:24Patrick Tombe, as you see, is some 20 seconds behind Cheever.
00:49:29Then Rosberg and Lafitte have been lapped in their Williams cars,
00:49:35and the interest, obviously, from now on,
00:49:38has to be the positions in the World Championship,
00:49:40as well, of course, as how Alain Prost is going to be doing
00:49:44in comparison with the rest in terms of his World Championship position.
00:49:49And Piquet, then, is 15 points at the present moment.
00:49:56But I'm talking about the World Championship positions at the present moment,
00:49:59if they keep going in the positions that they're in.
00:50:01Piquet would be leading with 15 points.
00:50:04Lauda would still be second with 10.
00:50:07Watson with nine.
00:50:08Tyne with Prost in third position.
00:50:11Then Jacques Lafitte would be fifth.
00:50:13And Tombe would be sixth.
00:50:15But this is lap 43, and it's a 54-lap race,
00:50:20so we certainly must not count our World Championship positions
00:50:24before they've been hatched.
00:50:26Prost finishing the lap.
00:50:29His Renault sounding delightfully crisp
00:50:31with fifth position man,
00:50:34Keki Rosberg, in the background there.
00:50:36Rosberg about five seconds ahead of sixth place,
00:50:39and his team-mate, Jacques Lafitte.
00:50:42And the unfortunate René Arnoux is dropping back all the time
00:50:46in the second Ferrari,
00:50:48as Nelson Piquet, that you just saw there,
00:50:50go through 23 seconds now behind that man,
00:50:55the race leader, Alain Prost.
00:50:57And still Eddie Chiever, some nine or ten seconds behind.
00:51:02Well, let's go a lap now with Alain Prost
00:51:08as he goes into the long straights,
00:51:12the 1.1-mile Mistral straight in fifth gear,
00:51:16building up the revs,
00:51:17and he does nearly 190 miles an hour
00:51:21as he comes underneath the bridge there.
00:51:23Then down one gear, a confidence lift, as they call it,
00:51:27into the courbe de senior,
00:51:28the very tight, the very sweeping right-hander,
00:51:32where Mauro Baldy and Jochen Maas
00:51:34went off at enormous velocity last year
00:51:36and led to the banning of skirts
00:51:39in order to make the cornering speed slower
00:51:41and the cars safer.
00:51:42This is the most best.
00:51:56Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen,
00:51:57to the 1983 French Grand Prix.
00:51:59Eight laps to go and back to France live
00:52:02to Murray Walker and to James Hunt.
00:52:09Now the race leader, Alain Prost,
00:52:12as we look at Nelson Piquet in second position,
00:52:15is on his 46th lap out of 54.
00:52:19On this now bitterly cold day at Paul Ricard,
00:52:25Nelson Piquet completes his 45th lap.
00:52:30There's Alain Prost.
00:52:31That's Eddie Cheever.
00:52:33The gap between Piquet and Cheever
00:52:35has been reduced slightly to just over eight seconds.
00:52:39And that is René Arnoux,
00:52:41who is in ninth position behind,
00:52:45sorry, in seventh position,
00:52:47behind Jacques Lapite and Kekiv Rosberg.
00:52:51Lap 46 in the French Grand Prix.
00:52:54There is the second-placeman, Nelson Piquet.
00:52:57Ahead of him by over 20 seconds,
00:53:00Alain Prost in third position
00:53:02in the Renault Cheever.
00:53:04In fourth position in the Ferrari,
00:53:06Tombé.
00:53:07In fifth position is Kekiv Rosberg.
00:53:10In sixth position, Jacques Lapite.
00:53:12And as you see,
00:53:13the fifth and sixth position men
00:53:14have been lapped by Alain Prost,
00:53:17the race leader.
00:53:18They're going down
00:53:19the Mistral straight,
00:53:22the longest straight in Grand Prix racing.
00:53:25And Alain Prost
00:53:26is exiting the right-hander there.
00:53:30It's a very flat circuit.
00:53:32He comes up to the left at La Tour.
00:53:35He comes up to the right at Pont,
00:53:38which is one of the second-gear corners
00:53:41on this circuit.
00:53:43He's going to race away beautifully crisply.
00:53:46The Renault team are not even bothering him
00:53:48to give him a signal as he goes through.
00:53:52And Nelson Piquet now approaches Pont,
00:53:56the right-hander.
00:53:57But it's a race which has become static
00:54:01in terms of the lead of sixth position.
00:54:05Niki Lauda,
00:54:06who was leading the World Championship,
00:54:09is out of the race.
00:54:11The gap now is 28 seconds
00:54:14between Prost and Piquet.
00:54:16The gap between Piquet and Chiever
00:54:19is significantly decreasing.
00:54:22The gap between Chiever and Piquet
00:54:24is decreasing.
00:54:26It is down now to about six seconds.
00:54:30It is shown there as being seven seconds.
00:54:32You're looking at Prost.
00:54:36Now, are we going to see Piquet and Chiever?
00:54:40Because now the interest is not so much
00:54:43whether Prost will win.
00:54:45There is the race leader on his 47th lap.
00:54:47But can it become a Renault 1 and 2
00:54:52as it was last year
00:54:54with Arnoux and Prost finishing second and first?
00:54:59And this race will Prost win,
00:55:01but will Chiever be second?
00:55:02Yes, absolutely, Mario.
00:55:05They are, if the gap keeps coming down
00:55:08at roughly the same rate
00:55:09it has done the last couple of laps,
00:55:11there Chiever is pretty much on schedule
00:55:13to catch Nelson Piquet
00:55:15right at the end of the race.
00:55:16So we may at last have a good battle
00:55:19just to liven things up at the finish.
00:55:23Here comes Alan Prost coming up
00:55:25to complete this 47th lap.
00:55:28Seven laps to go.
00:55:30That, uh...
00:55:31It's actually now to wait and see
00:55:36as they come round.
00:55:38Just if any Chiever has closed up a bit more.
00:55:42There goes Jackson.
00:55:43Turning 70 in sixth place,
00:55:45a secure sixth place.
00:55:46Rosberg's pulled away from him.
00:55:49Now, coming up to us
00:55:51at the start-finish side,
00:55:53we have Nelson Piquet
00:55:56just gone past now.
00:56:01Eddie Chiever now.
00:56:04The gap, the gap, six seconds
00:56:09between Nelson Piquet in second position,
00:56:13Eddie Chiever in third place.
00:56:16So Chiever has reduced the gap
00:56:17from nine to six.
00:56:19Is he going to be able to reduce it yet further?
00:56:21Well, I think unless Piquet is in some sort of trouble
00:56:25with his machinery,
00:56:26which, of course, is a possibility.
00:56:28He may be losing a bit of grip with the tyres
00:56:30if he put on a softer compound as well.
00:56:32See, the team's attempted
00:56:33in the second half of the race
00:56:35to put on a softer rubber compound
00:56:37because the track has dropped
00:56:38a fair bit of rubber on it already
00:56:41for the first half of the race.
00:56:42That normally enables you
00:56:44to run a slightly softer compound
00:56:46and there may have been a fair bit
00:56:48of ducking and weaving
00:56:49and guesswork going on
00:56:50amongst the teams
00:56:51in preparing their tyres
00:56:53for the guys who were stopping.
00:56:55And I think Piquet's probably got the experience
00:56:58to hold off Eddie Chiever
00:56:59over a short distance like this
00:57:01unless, as I say,
00:57:02he's got some sort of mechanical trouble.
00:57:04I think if he's in tyre trouble,
00:57:06his skill and experience
00:57:07will probably carry him through.
00:57:09If he's got a mechanical problem,
00:57:10there's a short distance.
00:57:13Lap 49 now for Alain
00:57:16Prost on his way
00:57:17to his sixth Grand Prix victory
00:57:19and his first points,
00:57:21and this is very important,
00:57:22of 1983
00:57:23because Prost was only seventh at Brazil.
00:57:27He was only 11th at Long Beach.
00:57:30And as I said before,
00:57:31he desperately needs those points.
00:57:34Nelson Piquet, there he is
00:57:36with that significant flash
00:57:38from the turbocharger.
00:57:39The gap between himself and Prost
00:57:41is now 28.7 seconds.
00:57:44The gap between Piquet and Chiever
00:57:47is 7.3 seconds.
00:57:50So it looks as though
00:57:52Nelson Piquet has well and truly
00:57:54got the message.
00:57:55There he is in the background.
00:57:57And he's actually increasing the gap
00:57:59between himself and Eddie Chiever
00:58:01in third position.
00:58:03This is going to be, of course,
00:58:04by far,
00:58:05Eddie Chiever's highest position
00:58:07since he joined the Renault team
00:58:09if he finishes in third place
00:58:10because he failed to finish in Brazil.
00:58:12There's the race leader, Prost,
00:58:14and Chiever failed to finish
00:58:15at Long Beach.
00:58:17So it's as important to Chiever
00:58:19to finish third or hopefully second
00:58:22as it is for Alain Prost here
00:58:24to win the race.
00:58:33He's still got to keep his foot screwed right in it
00:58:50because Eddie Chiever is not so far behind him.
00:58:54Although Chiever, as Murray just said,
00:58:56has back markers to negotiate.
00:58:59Prost appears to have a reasonably clear track
00:59:01in front of him.
00:59:05Piquet there coming through
00:59:06to complete his 50th lap.
00:59:09And the gap now between Prost and Piquet
00:59:11is 30.8 seconds.
00:59:14The gap between Piquet second
00:59:16and Chiever third
00:59:17is 5.8 seconds.
00:59:20So Eddie Chiever
00:59:22is absolutely on his limit,
00:59:25but he's still to catch and pass
00:59:27René Arnoux
00:59:28going down the Mistral straight there
00:59:30on lap 51.
00:59:31Out of 54,
00:59:32race leader Alain Prost.
00:59:34Second is still Piquet
00:59:36some 30 seconds later.
00:59:38Third, about seven seconds behind
00:59:40Piquet is still Chiever.
00:59:42Fourth is Patrick Tombe
00:59:43who has yet to be lapped
00:59:46by the race leader
00:59:47in fourth position.
00:59:48Fifth and been lapped
00:59:50Kekki Rosberg,
00:59:51the reigning world champion.
00:59:52Sixth of course
00:59:53and been lapped
00:59:54Patrick Tombe.
00:59:55Seventh, René Arnoux
00:59:56that we've been looking at.
00:59:58Eighth position
00:59:59is Michele Alboreto.
01:00:01Ninth is Jean-Pierre Jarrier
01:00:03and tenth is Marc Schurer.
01:00:05There are the first six.
01:00:07That in the background
01:00:08is the race leader.
01:00:09He is on his way
01:00:10to completing
01:00:11lap 51
01:00:12out of 54.
01:00:14Not very far to go
01:00:16for
01:00:17Prost,
01:00:18a wonderful French Grand Prix record.
01:00:20The winner in 1981.
01:00:24Second
01:00:25and meant to be
01:00:26the winner in 1982.
01:00:29Leading now
01:00:30on his 52nd lap.
01:00:32Two laps to go
01:00:33at the end of this one.
01:00:34That is Nelson Piquet
01:00:36in the turbocharged
01:00:37Brabham BMW
01:00:38and they certainly
01:00:39seem to have
01:00:40improved if not
01:00:42overcome.
01:00:42That's Bruno Giacomelli
01:00:43incidentally.
01:00:44They seem to have
01:00:44improved if not
01:00:45overcome
01:00:46the turbocharged
01:00:48BMW engine
01:00:49problems
01:00:50because
01:00:51Nelson Piquet
01:00:52is running like a train
01:00:53in this race.
01:00:54He crosses the line
01:00:5530.3 seconds
01:00:58behind
01:00:59Alain Posse
01:01:00and as we look
01:01:01at the race leader
01:01:02the gap between
01:01:03Piva
01:01:04and Piquet
01:01:05has increased
01:01:07to 7.3 seconds.
01:01:09There is
01:01:10Lafitte
01:01:11in sixth position.
01:01:12He's been
01:01:13lapped
01:01:13Jack Lafitte
01:01:14who was
01:01:15fourth at Brazil
01:01:16fourth at
01:01:17Long Beach
01:01:18if he finishes
01:01:18sixth here in
01:01:19France
01:01:20he will have
01:01:22with great merit
01:01:23finished in the
01:01:24points
01:01:25in all the
01:01:25three Grand Prix
01:01:26in which he has
01:01:28driven for the
01:01:28Tag Williams team
01:01:30for which he
01:01:31joined in
01:01:321983
01:01:33having left
01:01:34the Ligier team
01:01:35somewhat disenchanted
01:01:36after having
01:01:38been with it
01:01:38for years
01:01:39Jack Lafitte
01:01:40that is.
01:01:41This however
01:01:42is
01:01:43the
01:01:45distinctive
01:01:45shape of the
01:01:46new
01:01:47very slippery
01:01:48in wind cheating
01:01:49terms
01:01:50RE40 Renault
01:01:51of Alain Prost
01:01:52who came in
01:01:53and refueled
01:01:54in 24 seconds
01:01:55the first time
01:01:57the Renault team
01:01:58had refueled
01:01:59their runners
01:02:00Chiever took
01:02:0117 seconds
01:02:02and Prost
01:02:04took 7 seconds
01:02:05longer
01:02:05he came in
01:02:06after his
01:02:06teammate
01:02:06now
01:02:07as if
01:02:08to
01:02:08signify
01:02:09approval
01:02:10of what is
01:02:12happening
01:02:12the sun
01:02:13is actually
01:02:13coming out
01:02:14for a short
01:02:14while
01:02:15although we
01:02:16hope for a
01:02:16long while
01:02:17it's very chilly
01:02:17here
01:02:18to shine down
01:02:19on the circuit
01:02:20to throw
01:02:20a weak and
01:02:21watery shadow
01:02:22on Alain Prost
01:02:24who is on
01:02:25lap 53
01:02:26out of
01:02:2754
01:02:27on his way
01:02:29to
01:02:30his second
01:02:31French
01:02:32Grand Prix
01:02:33win
01:02:33in three years
01:02:34sandwiching
01:02:36his second
01:02:36place
01:02:37in 1982
01:02:38looking good
01:02:41the tyres
01:02:41look good
01:02:42and so they
01:02:42should of course
01:02:43because he's on
01:02:45perhaps softer rubber
01:02:47than he started the race
01:02:49but although pit stops are going to be banned at the end of this year
01:02:55because there is a lot of worry about fuel slopping about in the pits under pressure
01:02:59and being a danger
01:03:01well they may be banning them in 1984 onwards but they're certainly transforming the excitement of Grand Prix's in 1983 returning in some ways to what many people regard as the good old days and adding an extra dimension of excitement
01:03:21and it's soon going to be in the last lap for race leader Alain Prost who will be completing his 53rd lap onto his 54th as he comes round the left-hander now at Le Pangle on his way and he's into our site here as he goes round the left at La Tour changes down to one of the other ones that are going to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able
01:03:51to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be
01:04:21Alan Prost, who is universally recognised throughout the business as being one of the very top men.
01:04:29Today, for the first time, he had a look to me a little bit like a world champion.
01:04:33The Renault team are getting their hats together after the season last year.
01:04:39And Prost picking up nine points, so long as he stands up for the rest of this lap.
01:04:44Here he comes, he's only got half a lap to go now.
01:04:46And quite honestly, as I said before, there's a little bit of a world champion material look to me about this particularly dominant performance.
01:04:57And more particularly in the second half of the race, when he really just streaks away from the opposition.
01:05:03Alan Prost then, indeed, coming through to win the second French Grand Prix in his career in the last three years.
01:05:13And as I said, second last year, a quite incredible achievement.
01:05:17And the flags are really going to be waving here at the Paul Ricard circuit when the Frenchman crosses the line.
01:05:24Because the French crowd are going to also be welcoming home Eddie Cheever in third position.
01:05:31But now, there is Prost.
01:05:33He's within sight now of the chequered flag.
01:05:36Down to La Ponte for the 54th and last time.
01:05:40The chequered flag is ready and Alan Prost waves both hands in joy and delirious excitement as he crosses the line.
01:05:50There is Nelson Piquet, who won at Brazil and he's coming through in second place, not having finished at Long Beach.
01:05:58So it's going to make a very interesting situation as far as the World Championship is concerned,
01:06:03assuming that Nelson Piquet finishes in this second position.
01:06:06And he is...